What Cui Yuan found strange was the animation that played when he entered the website-the one that looked both like emerging from a vortex and being born into this world.
He noticed that the final reveal of the animation did not seem entirely smooth. Each time he refreshed, he could always detect something slightly off.
But this was not something human eyes could distinguish directly. The veteran programmer thought for a moment, opened his screen-recording software, set the recording quality to maximum, and recorded those few seconds of animation again. Then he imported it into his editing software and began analyzing it frame by frame.
He soon understood exactly where that sense of incongruity came from: the last dozen or so frames of the animation.
Although it looked to the naked eye like a simple transition from blurry to clear, the effect was actually achieved by blending multicolored filters.
Interesting...
The veteran programmer felt things were getting interesting. If it was only for the visual effect, there was really no need to go this far.
But since the developers had done it, they must have had their reasons.
He knew there were always people online skilled at creating and solving puzzles, and he often watched puzzle-solving videos himself.
And now, he seemed to have discovered a little Easter egg on a webpage. In that case...
Cui Yuan rubbed his hands together and got to work solving the puzzle.
"...The terrible Mana Tide has ravaged this world for nearly a hundred years. Every race is on the verge of extinction. The boundaries between all things are blurring, and their essences are merging..."
Player Yu Yun, game ID: [Shit Appraisal Master], connected successfully.
His hearing clearly returned to normal before his sight. A boy's clear voice reached his ears, and the prepared [Shit Appraisal Master] instantly understood his current situation-
He had successfully entered the game, and this should be the opening cutscene. But... did every player get an opening cutscene when they joined?
Although that could not have been more reasonable, it directly contradicted the realism his friend [Do Some Farm Work] had described.
Just as he was thinking this, the clear voice suddenly shifted and delivered an NPC line he had never heard in a game before:
"As for the specifics of the current situation, you can consult the other four Soul Returners to settle into your new life more quickly."
The moment [Shit Appraisal Master]'s sight returned, he saw a humanoid monster with stitches on its face run over and hug him.
If not for the translucent ID floating above this person's head, he would almost have thought he had run into a first-encounter death trap.
"Bro! You're finally here!"
The two online friends, who had never met in the real world, hugged each other tightly. There was no telling how they would feel once they learned that this was a real world too.
[Shit Appraisal Master] looked around and saw the other three players waiting nearby, including [Zhongde], whom he had once cursed to have his kidneys go flying everywhere.
Times had changed. In just a few days, two people who had been trading insults and barbs were about to pioneer new content shoulder to shoulder. It really was absurd.
It seemed his outrageous take back then had indeed been a little extreme, but that was understandable. After all his years of gaming, this was his first time seeing publicity as bizarre as that of "World of Disorder."
They shook hands politely, after which [Howling Pothos] briefly explained today's tasks:
"If there's anyone else you want to invite, you can head out hunting in pairs. Otherwise, let's try to finish the raft and cross the river today. The Black Forest on the other bank looks like more than it seems. If it's too difficult, we'll explore in another direction."
The three veteran players naturally had no objections, and the newly joined [Shit Appraisal Master] nodded repeatedly as well. This kind of social enjoyment was exactly why he loved online games.
And the immersive experience now undoubtedly multiplied that enjoyment. At that thought, he suddenly raised both hands to feel his head, then cried out near the castle gates:
"Where's my headset?"
His cry clearly drew everyone's attention except the NPC's, but they merely wore faintly mocking smiles, as though waiting for him to discover the other unusual things.
[Do Some Farm Work] came over and slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Bro, I kept telling you it was immersive, immersive, but you just wouldn't believe me. You finally believe me now, right?"
[Shit Appraisal Master] nodded without arguing, and his buddy continued:
"Then you also need to believe that what you're amazed by right now is the least remarkable part of this game."
With that, he led the inexperienced new player to the castle gates, then pushed them open hard, revealing that sinister, maddened yet utterly real world before [Shit Appraisal Master]'s eyes.
At that moment, player [Do Some Farm Work] completely let loose, shouting to his friend in a tone only an NPC would use:
"Welcome to the World of Disorder!"
Then he shoved his buddy out through the castle entrance, high above the ground.
A minute later, all the players had gathered at the remaining stone steps beneath the castle.
"So why did you push me?"
"I was afraid you'd have a fear of heights and waste time hesitating."
"I don't."
"You could."
Amid the relaxed atmosphere, the players began their third day of pioneering the game.
Player [Shit Appraisal Master]'s starting attributes were: [Strength: 7, Agility: 3, Constitution: 5, Will: 5], which just barely qualified as a somewhat balanced template.
With him joining in, they undoubtedly lashed the raft together much faster. Before noon in the World of Disorder, a simple raft had already appeared beside the river.
The river flowed very slowly. As long as there was no torrential rain, there was no need to worry about the raft being swept away.
They stood on the raft, distributing their combined weight as evenly as possible. Then, with the two strongest players pushing with poles, the thing that barely qualified as a boat finally wobbled its way to the other bank.
Having opened up a new map, they all cheered and jumped for joy. Although it looked a little childish, human happiness was sometimes just that simple.
As the game's first batch of closed-beta players, the five of them considered this feat no different from Columbus discovering the New World.
As everyone cheered and prepared to begin exploring, they seemed to have overlooked one fact-the only NPC currently capable of providing healing had been forgotten on the other bank.
Ed stood a short distance away on the opposite bank, holding a burlap sack and watching the excited players with pity in his eyes.
"How long do you think they'll last?"
Ed asked Little Green.
"That depends on their teamwork. Want to see their first-person perspectives? I can project them into your mind."
"Forget it. Experiencing being dismembered firsthand once was enough. I don't have a hobby of watching it over and over. Keep an eye on them, and let me know if they all die. I'll go pick up the pieces."
With that, Ed turned and headed toward the castle, beginning to consider his next move.
After all, he was no philanthropist, nor had he forgotten his true identity in this world.